ITALIAN AMERICAN: Frankie Valli and The 4 SEASONS

FRANKIE VALLI

and

The 4 SEASOUNS

GREATEST HITS

SHERRY

"SHERRY BABY"

FRANKIE VALLI

And The FOUR SEASONS

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY

The FOUR SEASONS

ED SULLIVAN SHOW

1963

DAWN

FRANKIE VALLI

An The 4 SEASONS

WALK LIKE a MAN

The FOUR SEASONS

C'MON MARIANNE

SAVE IT FOR ME

SUNDAY SAUCE

This is What FRANKIE Eats on SUNDAY

JERSEY STYLE SUNDAY GRAVY RECIPE

"RAG DOLL"

FRANKIE VALLI

And The FOUR SEASONS

FRANKIE VALLI

And The 4 SEASONS

Live on The ED SULLIVAN SHOW

NEW YORK , NY

1963

FRANKIE VALLI

Valli was born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, the eldest of three sons to an Italian family in the First Ward of Newark, New Jersey. His father, Anthony Castelluccio, was a barber and display designer for Lionel model trains; his mother, Mary Rinaldi, was a homemaker and beer company employee. He was inspired to take up a singing career at the age of seven after his mother took him to see the young Frank Sinatra at the Paramount Theater in Manhattan, New York City. One of his early favorite singers was "Texas" Jean Valli, from whom he adopted his stage name. Until he could support himself with music, he worked as a barber.

Valli's birth year has been called into question. Valli never addressed the issue himself, until the 2007 posting at the Official Frankie Valli Site, sponsored by his current record label, Universal Records. Much of the previous official publicity surrounding his career used 1937 as the birth year. Other sources, such as the Bear Family Records release, titled "The Four Lovers" as well as a 1965 mug shot, available through The Smoking Gun, all identify his year of birth as 1934.

Frankie Valli (born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio; May 3, 1934) is an American singer and actor, known as the frontman of The Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful head voice. Valli scored 29 Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons, one Top 40 hit under The Four Seasons alias The Wonder Who?, and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of The Four Seasons, Valli's number-one hits included "Sherry" (1962), "Big Girls Don't Cry" (1962), "Walk Like a Man" (1963), "Rag Doll" (1964) and "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" (1975). Valli's recording of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" reached number two in 1967. "You're Ready Now", a Valli solo recording from 1966, became a surprise hit in the UK as part of the Northern soulscene and hit number eleven on the British pop charts in December 1970. As a solo artist, Valli scored number-one hits with the songs "My Eyes Adored You" (1974) and "Grease" (1978).

Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio – the original members of The Four Seasons – were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990^[2] and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.